Our Lady of Aberdeen visits St Mirin's Cathedral

1490 – The statue was sculpted and installed in St Machar’s Cathedral Aberdeen. No one knows the title of the original statue.

She is now fondly referred to as ‘Our Lady of Aberdeen’.

St Machar’s Cathedral was sacked in 1560. The statue was hidden for three generations by the Gordons of Huntly whose lives were in danger if the statue was discovered.

The original statue shows Mary presenting her son to us.
She holds a bunch of grapes which have been missed out on all other replica statues. The grapes of course, are His precious blood.
She is showing us His body and blood i.e. The Holy Eucharist

In 1623 or 1625, the statue was sent to Flanders for safe keeping. The Spanish Archduchess Isabella, who ruled the Low Countries, attributed the winning of a battle to the arrival of the statue. She was so delighted with the statue that she renamed her ’Notre Dame du Bon Succes.’ (Our Lady of Good Success.)

This pious princess, with her own hands, placed on the venerated statue, a robe glittering with gold, precious stones and her own most costly jewels. Isabella recreated the statue into a royal statue to be processed and placed in her palace.
The statue went in hiding for a second time during the French Revolution. In 1835 she was refitted with new crowns and sceptre. There is no proof the statue had a sceptre until that date. She now resides in Notre Dame Du Finistere, Brussels. There have been many failed attempts to bring her back to Scotland but we have some excellent replicas.

This statue was comissioned by New Dawn in Scotland for its annual Conference and Rosary Procession to the ruins of the Cathedral in St. Andrews in honour of Our Lady & St Andrew. The statue was carved and painted in Mumbai from solid teak. Archbishop Leo Cushley blessed the statue and Bishop Hugh Gilbert offered a crowning ceremony in St. Mary’s Cathedral, Aberdeen.